YORK is to get its first “data mill” after a Yorkshire media consortium secured a share of £2.4 million.

The York Data Mill will be an online platform offering open data about the make-up of the city, combining public and private sector statistics.

The 18-month project is being spearheaded by a consortium led by Leeds-based media company Hebe Media, in conjunction with City of York Council, The York Channel, which holds the Local TV licence for the York area, Leeds City Council and the University of Central Lancashire. It will be funded by money won by the consortium after it was named as one of four UK companies to win a competition for funding organised by Nesta and the Technology Strategy Board.

Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, said: “As a city and a local authority that is committed to being open and transparent, we look forward to working with the partners and public to deliver real insights and improvements to everyday life and services in York.

“We wish to encourage local businesses and institutions, service providers, and residents to join us in this exciting project.”

The York Data Mill will follow in the footsteps of the Leeds Data Mill. That was set up with initial backing from the Cabinet Office’s Release of Data Fund and Leeds City Council. The Leeds Data Mill project is believed to be the first platform in the country to bring together open data information from multiple sectors across a city, uniting public, private, cultural and third sector data.